I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cigarette gas lighter in which a tank for storing liquefied gas fuel is made of a synthetic resin and, more particularly, to an improvement in arrangement of a burner member provided to the tank.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, the tank in a gas lighter for storing liquefied gas fuel is often made of a synthetic resin in order to reduce the weight and the cost of the lighter.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-32304 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,478, disclose cigarette lighters having tanks made of a synthetic resin. In these lighters, the region around the burner is also made of a synthetic resin and the thermal conductivity of this portion of the lighter is therefore lower than that compared to a metal burner. As a result, the heat of vaporization required for vaporizing the liquefied gas fuel in the burner is insufficient. Thus, vaporization of the fuel is not sufficiently performed in the burner, and liquid fuel tends to be present in the burner.
If the liquefied gas fuel is present in the burner, even when a predetermined amount of fuel is drawn up by the wick extending into the tank, the amount of vaporization is inconsistent and thus the gasified fuel injected from a gas jet nozzle of the burner is unstable. As a result, the length of the flame of the lighter is inconsistent. In addition, fuel may be sometimes injected from the nozzle in the form of a non-gasified liquid. An inconsistent length of flame and external injection of the liquefied gas can endanger the user.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-32304 discloses a lighter in which the heat of the liquefied gas fuel used is conducted to the pin disk of the burner to supply a sufficient amount of heat of vaporization to the passage of the liquefied gas fuel between the pin disk and the nozzle bottom to prevent the temperature therearound from rapidly falling. An upper end face of the heat collecting tube extending into the tank contacts the pin disk to conduct the heat of the liquefied gas to the pin disk through the heat collecting tube.
However, in the above-referenced cigarette gas lighter, since the metal pin disk and the metal heat collecting tubes are separate members and the lower surface of the pin disk is brought into contact with the upper surface of the heat collecting tube, the distance between these upper and lower surfaces tends to be inconsistent depending on the degree of surface roughnesses of the lower and upper surfaces and the variation in size of the various members provided to the burner. This inconsistency in distance renders the heat conducting properties between the upper and lower surfaces unstable and thus may adversely affect vaporization of the liquefied gas fuel.